William Elbert Munsey was born a few miles east in the mountains of Giles, present-day Bland, County on 13 July 1833. Despite little formal schooling, he possessed an insatiable appetite for knowledge. He entered the ministry of the Methodist Church in 1855, preached his first sermon near here, and extended his ministry to several states. Regarded by many who heard him as the greatest Methodist preacher of his day, he was poetic by nature, and his unrivaled word pictures held large audiences spellbound. His kindness extended to giving his own shoes and coat to a Confederate soldier who had none. Munsey died on 23 Oct. 1877.